


Protecting the Strongest

by lilaestheticsnhope



Series: The Strongest Avenger [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, So much angst, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 16:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaestheticsnhope/pseuds/lilaestheticsnhope
Summary: Dani faces one of her biggest fears: The Prospect of losing her new family. After everything she's been through when Tony suggests she go overseas for training she realizes that she might be torn away from her family over bureaucratic nonsense. With this, comes the promise of a fight.





	Protecting the Strongest

**Author's Note:**

> One day I'll sit down and write all of Dani's backstory, for archive reader but here's a quick overview. Dani is a girl who HYDRA stole when she was for because they believed she would be compatible with the super serum they synthesized from Captain America's DNA. They were correct and did their best to train her to be a killer, but she always knew what she was doing was wrong. When Steve was still working with SHIELD and they were busting up terrorist cells he found Dani and learned what they did to her. He advocated that she be taken in by the Avengers. Over time, they fostered a sort of Father/Daughter relationship. Shortly after Civil War, she met and became good friends with Peter Parker and they eventually started dating.

Dani sat on the steps, listening to the discussion downstairs. There’s a saying about eavesdroppers, that she’s sure Steve would tell her if he found her sitting here. She rests her chin on her knees listening to Steve and Tony argue. 

“They can say what they want, she’s not going overseas for training without me,” Steve’s tone left no foothold for debate.

“What do you think you have on her? If she goes rogue-”

“She won’t go rogue Tony! What are you even talking about?!”

“How do you know?! How do you-”

“Because she’s my kid!”

Tears pricked at her eyes as she listened to them. Part of her wondered if she should go back to her room, and forget she heard any of this.

“Steve-”

“No, she depends on me to be there, and I’m not gonna just ship her off to whatever ‘training’ facility your government sponsor decide they want her in.”

“If I say no now, they might take her by force.”

“Listen to me, Tony. They can try, but the last time they tried to take someone away from me I kicked your ass, and took half of the Avengers with me. If they touch Dani, there will be hell to pay.” 

“... I’ll send the message.” 

“Do that.” 

“I get that you feel protective of her, but don’t you think she might be better off if you let her go.” 

“I think, she’s already moved around enough. She’s fine where she is, and I know she’d hate this… And think of what this’d do to Peter.” 

“Peter?”

“Yes. Those two are inseparable. You can’t honestly think it would be good to split them up like that.”

“They’re young! They’ll get over it.”

“So? Sure eventually they might find a way to reconcile the pain, but why put ‘em through that? Let them be kids, Tony.”

“They’re not just kids anymore! They’re heroes and if you cared about Dani, I mean really cared about her, you’d want her to be the best she can be. Instead you’re using her to fulfill your need for a cookie cutter life that you’re never gonna have! You think I don’t see what’s going on here! It’s like you all forgot that this is a job!”

That hit hard. She’d never given a thought to the idea that this might all be a job to them. Her life, her love, it was all just a means to an end. Only that couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be true because Tony said it, not Steve. Sure, maybe it started out that way. Maybe in the beginning it was all just convenient but everything after that? It couldn’t be. Could it? Having heard enough she hurried back upstairs to her room. She grabbed her phone from its place on her bed. She paused to look at the picture of her and Peter on her lock screen. What about Peter? Was that just business too? She could trust that Steve might actually care about her, but what if Peter was just Tony’s way of manipulating her? She looked at his smiling face on her screen and she just couldn’t believe. No, Peter cared about her, he really cared. This wasn’t a job. She had to believe that. It was hard enough to grasp that he liked her in the first place, adding doubts now would just make things harder. She unlocked her phone and typed a quick message Peter. 

-Can I call you?- she asked. 

She lie on her back staring at the ceiling as she waited for his reply. The twinkling lights, that she left on despite Steve constantly asking her to turn them off when she doesn’t need them, danced in her eyes. She could hear Steve and Tony from her room now. They’d gotten louder much louder. 

“She’s my kid and that goes beyond legalities, or genetics! I don’t care that you’re broken! Everyone keeps making fuckin excuses for you but I’m done! You come into my house, threaten my kid-”

“No one’s threatening anything-”

“Yes you are! You think you’re so damn smart but you can’t even see what sending her away would do to her! It’s like you’re a fucking reptile! The fact that May hasn’t called the damn police on you is astounding to me, honestly! They’re just kids! Training and missions, and all of this other adult bullshit shouldn’t even concern them-”

-Sure - Peter texted back, and Dani immediately called him, pressing her phone to her ear as she listened to the dial tone.

“Hey, Dani. Is everything alright?” 

At that single question she just started crying. She didn’t even realize she was on the brink of tears until he asked.

“Where are you? Are you safe?” 

“I’m fine. I’m fine Pete… just come here. I need to see you. I thought talking would work… but I just need to see you.”

“I’m on my way. Are you at home?” 

“Yeah.” She sniffed wiping her face as she continued to cry. 

“Alright. Do you want to talk about it at all now?” 

At that question, a new wave of sobbing took over, “I don’t know if I can.” 

“Okay. Okay… well um. What’s your favorite color today?” 

“What?” her voice cracked a little. It was a bit higher than normal from sobs constricting her throat. 

“You always say that your favorite color varies from day to day. What’s your favorite today?”

She went quiet trying to think about colors and not the yelling downstairs. She listened to the sound of wind coming through her phone, presumably from Peter swinging through the city. 

“Um… I think blue… but like your blue,” she answered after taking a deep breath to steady her voice. 

“My blue?” 

“Yeah. It’s the shade of blue that looks best on you, that really compliments you the best.” 

“Huh, okay… What’s it look like?” he huffed a little.

“It’s a dark cerulean...Vibrant but not bright. I don’t really know how to explain it. But it’s the color of that sweater Aunt May gave you. The one she said used to belong to your uncle. It looks nice on you, and you always look so warm.” 

“Didn’t know you thought that… I’m almost there. Should I go to the door or-”

“No, come to my window...Tony’s here… he and Steve are arguing.” 

“Oh. How bad is it?” 

Suddenly she paid attention to the fight downstairs. 

“You don’t know anything about me! I spent my whole life trying to be better!” Tony was yelling. 

“Really bad.” 

“Alright, well Aunt May said it was okay for you, Ned, and Michelle to come over to hang out this weekend. She’ll be a little late home, ya know work, but she’ll be there eventually.” 

“Sounds great. Are we still watching Lord of the Rings?” 

“Yeah, unless you don’t want to. I don’t think the others would mind.” 

“No that’s great. That sounds so great Pete.” 

“I... “ Peter began but didn’t finish, what he said instead was, “I’m here.” Dani sat up to find Peter in his Spider-Man suit outside her window. She came over and shoved the window up. As Peter was about to crawl in she shook her head. 

“I gotta get outta here.” 

She stepped out on to the fire escape. The metal shuddered slightly under the impact. The night was cold, but she had on a heavy enough sweatshirt, that she didn’t feel much of it. She was sure to close the window but not lock it before turning back to Peter. 

He turned his back to her and squatted down, “Climb on.” 

She did as he said then tucked her face into the side of his neck, to shelter it from the wind. They swung far away from her home, into the dense city, where the skyscrapers managed to break through the layer of smog that hid the moon from the city. He didn’t stop on one of those buildings though. Instead, Peter opted for something a little less precarious. The roof was big and flat, with a slanted skylight for them to lean against. They sat together, Dani under his arm, head resting back on his shoulder. 

“Tony wants to send me off to some military training camp,” Dani spoke quietly, staring out at the lights of a plane as it coasted through the sky. She imagined herself on one of the planes, staring blankly out the window as she moved further and further away from her friends and family. 

“But you can’t go,” Peter cried out, “We’ve got winter formal and- and prom! And what about Mr. Rogers. Is he okay with that?” 

Dani shook her head, “Of course not. He’s willing to fight everyone if he has to but I don’t wanna fight Stark… I don’t wanna fight you.”

“Me?” 

“Yeah… You’re always on Stark’s team and if I have to-”

“I’m not on his team this time. If you don’t want to go then you shouldn’t have to go and I’ll fight for that, Dani.” 

“I don’t want that either!” she threw her arms up exasperatedly, “I don’t want the people I love getting hurt! I’m just- I’m scared. I don’t wanna leave my family. I don’t wanna leave you.” Her voice which started off loud, ended softly, her voice cracking as her throat constricted around another sob. Peter wasn’t facing her, looking out at the skyline, just as she had been doing moments ago, but now she was studying him, trying to commit his face to memory. She wanted to know the exact location of every freckle on his face so that when somebody came and took her away she could close her eyes and see it perfectly. When her eyes wandered down to his lips she remembered all the kisses they’d shared: There were the quick kisses between classes, that would make Peter blush and dip his head. There were playful kisses in the compound when they sparred together and she’d inevitably have him pinned. She always dipped down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. There were also the passionate kisses after dangerous missions when it dawns on both of them that they could have died. Peter always pulled her in close pressing his lips against hers as if he’d never see her again, or like he’d lived a lifetime without her. She wasn’t sure they’d ever stop kissing if someone didn’t come break them up. What would a goodbye kiss be like? They never had a real goodbye kiss. There was an abundance of ‘see you next time’s and “see you soon”s, but a real goodbye? Real goodbyes held the knowledge that they might never see each other again. Dani wasn’t good at real goodbyes. She never wanted to be good at them. 

“I can’t guarantee there won’t be fighting,” Peter spoke breaking her from her thoughts, pulling her from the ledge of goodbyes, “but I can promise you, you won’t be going anywhere. Everyone loves you so much. Dr. Banner, Thor, Natasha, Sam, Bucky, and most of all Steve. Do you really think they’re gonna let anyone take you away?” He faced her now, brows pushed together and his lips pressed into a thin line. 

“No, but-”

He shook his head, “No buts, Dani. You’re always fighting for everyone else, it’s like you don’t get that it goes both ways. We’ll fight for you too. Even if it doesn’t come down to actual fighting,” he brought a gloved hand up to hold her face, cradling it as if it was made of glass, “we’ll do what it takes to keep you free.” 

Dani leaned into his touch, holding his hands to her face as she closed her eyes. Tears fell as she closed her eyelids, pooling into Peter’s hands and soaking through the fabric of his suit. Peter let out a quiet breath then gathered her more thoroughly in his arms, pulling her so that her head rested on her chest. 

“I just wish Stark… I dunno cared?” she mumbled.

“He does care-”

“No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t know me. He just accepts what anyone tells him about me. He doesn't care about me or my feelings or...or anything.” She was going to say that Stark didn’t care about Peter’s feelings either, but she didn’t want to fight with Peter right now, she just wanted him to keep holding her. 

“Then I’ll make him care,” Peter insisted, holding her tighter against him, “You’re like… my Helen of Troy.” 

At that, Dani sat up a little so he could see the confused look on her face, “What?” 

He gave her a tiny rueful smile, the same smile he gave when he intended to tell a horrible pun, “I’d sail a thousand ships for you.” Before she could berate him for such a cheesy line he leaned down and kissed her. In that kiss, she thought perhaps everything might be okay. Maybe Tony would back off, maybe she’d graduate from high school, maybe she’d go to college. Maybe she would be something more than an Avenger. Maybe one day she’d be someone’s wife. Maybe one day she’d be Peter’s wife. At any rate, when the kiss was over she was slow to open her eyes, holding on to the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, stapling the feeling of Peter’s mouth against hers, an open fire amidst the cold of the rooftop. Peter still held her face in his hands; she found him studying her face when she opened her eyes. She couldn’t turn her head away, so she bit her lip and looked down bashfully.

“I love you,” Peter said fervently causing her eyes to jump back up to look at him. 

“I love you too.” 

“You have to let me protect  _ you  _ for once.” 

She took in a deep breath trying to figure out how to express to him that he made her feel safe, no fighting needed. She always felt safe in his presence. Instead, she just nodded going back to rest against his chest as they sat against the sloped skylight of a building. 

“Okay, Peter. I trust you.” 

By the time he brought her back home, Tony was long gone. The house was quiet. Peter and Dani stood on her fire escape holding hands. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Dani.” 

“I believe you,” she mumbled looking down at their feet, trying to conceal the fact that she was going to cry again. Peter gave her hands a light squeeze before letting go to put back on his mask so he could swing home. As he cast his web to a higher point and began to pull himself away Dani cried out. 

"Wait!" 

He lowered himself with his webbing, hanging upside down. He'd put his mask back on to swing home, now Dani pulled it down just enough to reveal his lips. She kissed him, really kissed him as if they might never kiss again.

"Thanks, Spidey," she smirked as she pulled away to see the eyes of his mask wide and his lips parted. What she could see of his face was bright red.

"I love you, Dani."

"I know," she smirked watching as he glided back up his web to swing off into the city.  She stayed at the window watching him until he disappeared. Soon after a soft knock hit her door. She turned to see Steve standing in her doorway. He looked tired, and like perhaps he’d been crying at some point. His nose and eyes were a little red. 

“Is Peter gone?” he asked with a small smirk. 

“Dad… I-”

“No, it’s fine. You guys are being safe right?”

She huffed, “Dad-” 

“I know. I know…” Steve sauntered in taking to sitting on the edge of her bed. He patted the mattress to encourage her to sit beside him. She did, taking to resting her head on his shoulder. 

“I know you heard… and I want you to know you’re not going anywhere. Unless of course, you want to.” He shifted to look down at her.

“No, I don’t.”

“Then, you’re safe here.”

“Is that because you threatened to overthrow the government?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want you guys to fight again… I don’t want to see anybody get hurt over this.”

“Sometimes…”Steve breathed in deeply, “Sometimes there’s no way around people getting hurt. Especially when you can’t compromise. Tony and I can’t seek a compromise because there are only two options, either I let them take you, or I don’t. Those are the only options Tony is giving me, he won’t see a third. He’s use to putting responsibility off into the hands of others...me? Well, I’m a man of action; you know that, kid.” 

“Yeah… but why? I’m not… I’m not really- Bucky- You knew Bucky since you were little,” she struggled to find the right words, “You’ve only known me a couple of years.” 

“You’re my kid. You’re the daughter I was never lucky enough to have, not until now. I love you. You’re my favorite part of everyday. If something happened to you. If I failed to protect you I- It’s important to me that you get to live the life you want, not the life some asshole dictates to you. Be it HYDRA, or the U.S. Government it’s all crooked and you’re a kid. You should be doing what kids do. You should be out with your boyfriend, you should be worried about school, and whatever teenage drama is happening there, you shouldn’t be training day in and day out to be some kind of-of-”

“Super soldier?” she offered tilting her head up to look up at Steve. 

“Yeah. You should just be a kid, just worry about kid stuff… like what you’re gonna wear to prom, whether or not Sam’s gonna throw a fit about the dress you get, and if you and Peter are gonna go together. I want to see you worry about that stuff, not this. I don’t want you to worry about politics… but I get that it’s inevitable. It’s your life Stark is playing with… and hey, if you wanna go personally speak your mind to him then I’ll take you to go do it.” 

She scoffed, “Just talk?” 

“If you wanna give ‘im the ole one-two, I’ll look the other way. Pretend I didn’t see anything.” He smiled, looking down at his hands. Steve didn’t know how to express to Dani that she meant the world to him. He’d never given much thought to having a kid, let alone adopting a teenage daughter, but she was honestly the best thing to ever happen to him. She was a ray of sunshine despite all she’d been through. All of his friends thought of her as their daughter. When he told Bucky about Tony’s “proposition” he about marched down to Stark’s place and made his record for killing Starks 3/3. She was integral to keeping them sane, giving them a purpose outside of being weapons against the dangers that threaten Earth. She made them worry about normal things, like how to work a schedule around gymnastics classes, and how to coordinate meet ups so they could all go support her in her nerdy trivia team. She challenged them to be better people, and not to wallow in self-pity. He’d watched her make Thor, a person who’d lost everything, smile seconds after the most gruesome fight they’d ever experienced. She was the glue that held their little family together, and she didn’t even know it. Dani couldn’t leave, not just because she didn’t want to go, but because Steve wasn’t sure what he’d do if he didn’t get to drive her to school every morning, and sing Ariana Grande as loud as physically possible with her. 

“I love you, kid… I don’t want you to worry about this. I’ll make sure you’re free to do whatever the hell you wanna do with your life.”

Dani wrapped her arms around Steve, feeling safe again. If Steve said she wasn’t going anywhere, then she wasn’t. She believed that. Steve had yet to let her down. She knew all of her parents- Natasha, Bucky, and Sam- loved her but Steve was always on her side. In some ways, she didn’t think she’d ever be as close to her other parents, maybe that was because calling them parents was a bit of an overstatement. They were there for her, and they would do anything for her, but they felt more like Aunts and Uncles if she was honest with herself, but Steve? Steve was her Dad. There was something more there, an allegiance that he’d proven over and over. 

“I’m going to Prom with Peter,” she said after a few moments of silence passed. 

“Oh did he do the uh...  prom-posal?”

“No, but when I told him about Stark he yelled what about Prom? And also he  _ is  _ my boyfriend, he’s kinda my only option for a prom date.” 

“You could ditch him. Go with Michelle,” Steve shrugged. 

Dani snorted, “I’m not gonna ditch him for Michelle.” 

“She’s a nice girl. Smart, skeptical of the powers that be, good moral compass-”

“Peter has all of those things too.” 

“Mmhm, but Peter’s a boy. And boys make after-prom plans.” 

“Steve!” she complained sitting up and letting go of him, “We’re going laser tagging, then coming here to watch movies and eat junk food! There will be no  _ plans  _ that you need to worry about.”

“Whatever you say, doll.” 

“No, no, no. I mean it! And when my friends are over you better have a shirt on!” 

“That was one time!” 

“Well, one is enough! Ned is still shook! You can’t just be walking around like that! I want a loose fitting shirt with sleeves from you!”

“I’ll be damned before I wear sleeves in my house.” 

Dani glared at him, but the glare quickly cracked and she couldn’t help but to smile, “I’m telling Bucky on you,” she announced as she bolted out of her room and down the hall towards Bucky’s room. Steve didn’t bother getting up, she was going to beat him there anyway. Instead he took his time getting up, letting the mask slip for a moment. He hoped he’d be able to keep Dani. He would do everything to keep her… but sometimes people do everything they can and still lose. 


End file.
